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Costanzo's walk-off grand slam caps a miraculous ninth inning

Mike Costanzo capped a sixth-run ninth inning with a walk-off grand slam that gave the Louisville Bats a 10-7 victory over Norfolk on Thursday night. The Bats took three of four from the Tides in the series at Louisville Slugger Field.

Costanzo's walk-off grand slam caps a miraculous ninth inning

Mike Costanzo capped a sixth-run ninth inning with a walk-off grand slam that gave the Louisville Bats a 10-7 victory over Norfolk on Thursday night. The Bats took three of four from the Tides in the series at Louisville Slugger Field.

After going hitless in his first four at-bats, the 30-year-old Costanzo said he wasn't surprised Norfolk walked Chris Nelson ahead of him to load the bases and set up a possible game-ending double play. When closer Preston Guilmet hung an 0-1 changeup, it did end the game, but certainly not the way the Tides wanted.

Costanzo got enough of it to put it on the roof of the picnic pavilion in right-center.

"I saw it good," he said. "By no means was I trying to hit a home run."

The dramatic rally allowed the Bats to overcome a shaky start by Chien-Ming Wang, who allowed seven runs in 52/3 innings. But Nick Schmidt and Adam Russell (1-0) allowed only two hits the rest of the way to enable the Bats to battle back from a 7-2 deficit.

"It's very good to pick up the starter," said Schmidt, who gave up two hits and a walk in 22/3 innings. "But you've also got to keep the hitters in the game."

Norfolk got most of its production from the back of its lineup, as the sixth through eighth hitters accounted for eight of the team's 10 hits.

The Bats started chipping away in the sixth when Kristopher Negron blasted a home run to center. In the next inning, Ruben Gotay's sacrifice fly scored Jason Bourgeois to make it 7-4.

That was it until the ninth. Argenis Diaz led off with a walk after falling behind in the count 0-2. Bourgeois walked on four pitches but was forced out on Josh Fellhauer's fielder's choice. Gotay's RBI single made it 7-5, and Felix Perez's double cut the Tides' lead to one.

Norfolk manager Ron Johnson elected to walk Nelson, which came as no shock to Costanzo, who has played against the longtime manager in both the Eastern and International leagues.

"I've played against Ron Johnson enough to know he'd play for a double play," he said.

Bats manager Jim Riggleman praised the work of his bullpen for allowing his team to finally take advantage of Guilmet, who he said is a great closer who just had a bad night.

"You never know what will happen when you stay in range," Riggleman said.

Costanzo knew what was waiting for him in the locker room as the Bats celebrated their improbable comeback. He saw the shaving-cream pie waiting for him in the hallway, but he didn't see Perez with a handful of dirt. The victory concoction stung as much as he stung the ball.